Routes, Planning, & Inspiration for Your North American Road Trip

Travel Planning

Free time to take an extended road trip
is a precious commodity, and as fuel prices continue
to inch upward, the "fly-and-drive" road trip makes
more and more sense. Whenever possible I love to mosey
on road trips, but these days, it seems that I am always
on a deadline and need to get back to the office as
soon as possible. Taking advantage of air trips to hub
cities enables me to grab some "found time" for taking
road trips. In the past year, Megan and I have flown
to several different regions of the country and enjoyed
short road trips to many local scenic attractions. A
wedding in Canada gave us the opportunity to tour Glacier
National Park in Montana, and a business trip to Atlanta
offered a nice chance to drive though the Great Smoky
Mountains in Georgia and Tennessee. Other plane trips
have allowed a journey down the California coast, a
loop around Seattle and a scenic drive in south-central
Texas.

Here are some tips for setting up your
own fly-and-drive road adventure.

PRE-TRIP
PLANNING

1. Pack a Fly-and-Drive Go-Kit.
Most roadtrippers keep a well-stocked "Go-Kit"
in their personal roadtripping vehicles, but it's impossible
to cram all that gear into a suitcase small enough to
fit within airline size and weight limits. The following
items are worth the space they consume:

An insulated
cooler bag that packs flat but expands to carry
fresh vegetables and other perishables.

A weather-alert radio and/or a hand-held
citizens band (CB) radio. Weather-alert radios are
relatively inexpensive and can be an invaluable source
for local weather information. Portable CB radios
are great for finding out about traffic slowdowns
and road hazards, but the required antenna can be
unwieldy to pack. One solution is to buy an inexpensive
antenna upon arrival; another is to use a luggage-forwarding
service like the one described later in this article.

Maps and directions to your hotel. Pack
a North American road atlas or individual maps of
the regions you will be visiting. While it is possible
to find local maps once you are on the ground, we
have found that the search can be time-consuming -
and we would rather spend our time on the road. We
also take printed directions from the airport to our
hotel so we can pick up our rental car and be on our
way without a lot of unnecessary confusion.

A basic first aid kit, packed in a soft-sided
container or zipper bag. Include just the basics:
Band-Aids, bandages, hand sanitizer, antibiotic ointment,
scissors, tweezers, and of course any prescriptions
drugs and supplies that you need. Other items worth
taking along include an LED flashlight (the kind with
bright, blue-light, focusable beams are exceptionally
powerful for their size), a squashable hat, sunscreen
and bug repellant. While these last two items are
easily acquired after arrival, it's great to have
them on hand when you first sally forth.

2. Consider luggage forwarding.
"Pack heavy, travel light" is the apt slogan of Luggagefree,
a luggage-forwarding company based in New York City.
Many families, professional athletes, college students
and other big-baggaged travelers use its services for
transporting strollers, bicycles, golf clubs, skis or
any other heavy luggage that they don't want to have
to lug through airports. The company offers door-to-door
transport and could easily be used to send gear directly
to a roadtripper's kickoff motel or hotel. While I haven't
tried this service yet, I plan to. I'd love to be able
to travel with my tools, safety triangle, CB radio and
antenna, portable GPS unit, emergency rations and other
key components of the Go-Kit that I keep in my own vehicle.

3. Choose your rental vehicle carefully.
Think about what kind of vehicle would make the most
sense for your roadtrip. Do you need four-wheel drive?
Seating for six? How about GPS navigational equipment
or a satellite radio? Generally, we don't rent either
of these electronic devices, but they might well be
worth the expense to you, and they are often available.
Now take a look at your arrival airport. Does its car
rental fleet have the type of vehicle you want? If not,
you may need to change your airport or make special
arrangements with your car rental company to delivery
a special-order vehicle to the lot.

4. Make your hotel and motel reservations.
Whenever possible, we like to travel without
the constraints of motel reservations, but sometimes
they make good sense. For fly-and-drive roadtrips, it's
helpful to reserve that first night and maybe the last
night fairly close to the airport, so you don't have
to worry about looking for a room on arrival and the
night before you have to catch a plane. Arrange for
an early check-in or late check-out if you need it -
and you might if you're planning a long drive or have
the time and inclination for a mosey road trip. Besides,
you'll need time to repack your suitcases for the flight
home.